Conte withdraws handball complaint

Juventus coach Antonio Conte has apologised for his outburst following a 1-1 draw with Genoa, which saw him receive a two-match ban.

Conte was left fuming with referee Marco Guida’s decision not to award Juve an injury-time penalty after Genoa’s Andreas Granqvist appeared to handle inside the area.

The Juve coach later apologised at a meeting with officials and referees in Milan on Monday, following a discussion with Stefano Braschi, a referee designator for Serie A, who outlined how Guida was correct not to award the penalty.

“It was a complicated situation,” Italian Referee’s Association (AIA) president Braschi said.

“We spoke about it today (Monday) and almost everyone said the handball was not intentional.

“The fact that Granqvist basically kicked the ball at his own arm was evaluated. Almost everyone agreed with that.

“Guida noted what occurred with certainty. In cases like this it was right to not award a penalty.

“He (Conte) understood that he went a bit too far but what counts in situations like this is whether the handball is voluntary or not.”

Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Mirko Vucinic and director Guiseppe Marotta were also given bans for their roles in criticising referee Guida.